Notes Also At www.manskopf.com WASTE MANAGEMENT Chapter 19 Mr. Manskopf Notes Also At www.manskopf.com

Love Canal, New York When Waste is Not Disposed of Properly 1942 to 1958 Hooker Chemicals Disposal Site 1953 Sold to Niagara Falls School Board (school, housing) 1976 Residents becoming sick 1978 Lois Gibbs leads outcry 1980 Declared Disaster Site 2004 Taken off Superfund List

Section 1: Wasting Resources Why should we care about solid waste? How much waste does the U.S. produce? What is in the garbage? The throw away mentality: OUT of SIGHT… OUT OF MIND

Solid Waste Two Reasons to Be Concerned: Wasted Resources Unwanted or discarded material that is not liquid or gas Out of sight Out of Mind No Waste In Nature Two Reasons to Be Concerned: Wasted Resources Causes huge amounts of air, water, land pollution and soil erosion

Wasting Resources Industrial and agricultural waste Municipal solid waste Fig. 24-2 p. 533 US: 11 billion metric tons/year

Affluenza In Action U.S. produces 1/3rd of world’s solid waste and buries ½ of it Most waste comes from mining, oil, gas, ag., sewage, industry Think about a simple product like a computer…how much waste produced to create it (Life Cycle)

Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) 1.5% of Solid Waste is MSW Between 1960 and 1990 per capita MSW grown 70%...why do you think that is? 38% is paper, 12% yard waste, 11% food waste, 10% platics E-Waste Growing FAST

MSW

MSW Continued… Garbologists findings 50 year old newspapers still readable Pork Chops decades old WHY DO THEY NOT DECOMPOSE????.....what do things need to decompose

MSW Continued… Enough disposable diapers each year linked together would go to moon and back 7 times Enough office paper to build a wall 11 feet high between NYC and SF

What are the options for dealing with waste? Waste management (high waste approach) Waste is part of economic growth, lets manage negatives Burying, burning, shipping Waste prevention (low waste approach) Before product is produced look to minimize life cycle Reduce, reuse, recycle

Six Ideas For Less Waste Consume less: Do we Really NEED this? Redesign products to use less resources: How can we make this product using less resources throughout their life cycle Redesign to use and make less pollution: Toxic substances etc.

Six Ideas For Less Waste 4) Develop products that are easier to repair, reuse, remanufacture, compost or recycle 5) Design products to last longer 6) Eliminate or reduce packaging (nude packaging)

Methods of Solid Waste Disposal

Burning and Burying What are advantages and disadvantages of burning solid waste? What are the advantages and disadvantages of burying solid waste?

Typical Waste to Energy Plant (incinerator)

Burning Wastes

Burning Waste Japan and Switzerland over 50%, U.S. about 16% More than 280 project canceled in U.S. due to high costs, concern among citizens, air pollution etc.

Burying Wastes Open dumps Sanitary landfills Leachate collection Monitoring wells Emit greenhouse gases (CO2 and methane)

Sanitary Landfill Fig. 24-14 p. 547

And what about all of the older landfills around U. S And what about all of the older landfills around U.S. and the rest of the world???

NIMBY Not In My Back Yard common with landfills and incinerators

Review Costs and Benefits: Landfills Decomposition yields methane, which can be used like natural gas. Leachate may eventually escape and contaminate the groundwater. When full, landfills are capped. The land can be used for recreation. Trash decomposes very slowly. Few communities are willing to host landfills (NIMBY).

Review: Costs and Benefits of Incineration Incinerating waste reduces its weight by up to 75% and volume by up to 90%. Toxic ash must be disposed of. Heat from burning trash can be used to generate electricity (waste-to-energy). Dioxins, heavy metals, and PCBs can be created and released by burning waste.

Section 2: Minimizing Waste How can we reduce, reuse, recycle our waste?

What is REUSE? Cleaning and using the material over and over again increasing the lifespan of the product

Junkyards and salvaging wood from old homes etc.

Not Reuse…

Reuse: Benefits Extends resource supplies Saves energy and money Reduces pollution Create jobs Reusable products

Reuse: Costs Waste (especially e-waste) can contain harmful substances…especially heavy metals Many eke out living scavenging for waste in large open dumps

Some Success 95% of Finland’s soft drink, beer, wine bottles reused Germany about 3/4th are refilled

Other examples of Reuse… Shopping bags and tool libraries

Recycling What is recycling? What is composting? How should we recycle solid waste? How much waste paper is being recycled? How feasible is recycling plastics? Why isn’t more reused and recycled?

What is recycling? Reprocessing solid waste into new useful products 5 Categories in US Household Recycling Paper Products Glass Aluminum Steel Some plastics

Characteristics of Recyclable Materials Easily isolated from other waste Available in large quantities Valuable

Recycling Rates Switzerland, Japan 50% U.S. 30% up from 6.4% in 1960 60-80% is achievable

Wastepaper Recycling Easy to recycle Removing ink, glue coating and reconverting into pulp 42% of world tree harvest is for paper Currently U.S. recycles 49% of waste paper Making paper has big enviro impact

Wastepaper Recycling

How plastics are made Recycling plastic is difficult chemically and economically 10% in U.S. recycled Different resins Low cost of oil Biodegradable plastics (bioplatics) offer hope

Types of Plastic

Economics of Recycling Paper, aluminum, steel are easy to recycle and make easy economic sense CRITICS: 1) plenty of landfill space, 2) Glass and plastic expensive to recycle Employs 1.1 million people

Why we don’t recycle more Enviro Costs not included (externalities) Too few government subsidies Tipping fees at landfills cheap Price fluctuations for goods Often don’t PAUT Life cycle costs often not factored in

Did You Know? States with “bottle bills” (consumers receive a refund per returned bottle or can) have reduced their beverage container litter by 69–84% and total litter by 30–64%.

Composting Composting organic waste mimics nature Only 5% of yard waste composted in U.S….could easily be raised to 35% Compost used as fertilizer, topsoil and help restore eroded land

Composting

Section 7: Hazardous Waste What is hazardous waste? What can we do with hazardous waste? How can we detoxify waste? What are advantages and disadvantages of burying hazardous wastes? What are Brownfields?

What is Hazardous Waste? Any discarded solid or liquid that is toxic, ignitable, corrosive or reactive enough to explode or release toxic fumes. 80-90% from developed countries 72% from Petro-Chem 22% mining

What is hazardous waste? Ignitable: Can catch fire Corrosive: Can damage or destroy metals Reactive: Chemically unstable; can explode or produce fumes when combined with water Toxic: Harmful or fatal when inhaled, ingested, or touched

Common sources of hazardous waste include batteries, cleaning agents, paints, and pesticides.

Case Study: Bhopal India 1984 World’s worst industrial accident Union Carbide pesticide plant explosion Toxic cloud settled over region killing 23,000 120,000 to 150,000 suffer chronic illnesses related to accident

Hazardous Waste Disposal Landfills: Specifically designed to keep hazardous waste contained Surface impoundment: Liquid waste poured into shallow lined pits; water evaporates and solid waste is transported elsewhere Deep-well injection (see diagram on right): Wastes injected into deep, confined porous rock layers

Hazardous Waste Landfill

Surface Impoundments: Trade-offs

Brownfields Abandoned industrial and other hazardous waste site Factories, junk yards, gas stations Usually older urban areas like Camden are full of them

Brownfields Can be cleaned up and reborn as parks, industrial parks, etc. First need to be cleaned Some developers weary of taking risks and costs

Brownfields

One example of many in Camden: http://www. state. nj

Case Studies: Lead Lead poisoning major problem in children Primary Sources of Lead Leaded gasoline (phased out by 1986) Lead paint (banned in 1970) Lead in plumbing Progress is being made in reducing lead

Case Studies: Mercury Vaporized elemental Mercury Fish contaminated with methylmercury Natural inputs Emission control Prevention of contamination

Case Studies: Dioxins Potentially highly toxic chlorinated hydrocarbons Sources of Dioxins Waste incineration Fireplaces Coal-fired power plants Paper production Sewage sludge

Hazardous Waste Regulation in the U.S. What is RCRA? What is Superfund?

Hazardous Waste Regulation in the United States Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund) National Priority List Polluter-pays principle

RCRA 1976 Passed By Congress: amended 1984 ID Hazardous Waste and set standards Companies that deal with Haz. Waste over 220 lbs. must get permits Cradle to Grave tracking and submit proof to EPA

CERCLA Commonly called Superfund Passed in 1980 (NJ Congressman leaders) Established tax on on chemicals to 1) ID abandoned dumps sites 2) Clean up groundwater 3) Establish NPL list for cleanups

http://www.scorecard.org/env-releases/land/

Why do you think NJ has so many?

CERCLA Responsible parties must pay If no party can be found clean ups down using $ from tax on oil and chemical companies (tax expired 1995) 1,250 NPL sites…113 in NJ About 72% clean up underway avg. $20 million per site

CERCLA Some estimates 10,000 sites could cost $1 trillion…pollution prevention cheaper? Toxic Release Inventory www.epa.gov/tri

Polluter Pays Principle Who should pay for cleanup when responsible parties can not be found? Currently tax payers 1 in 4 Americans live within 4 miles of Superfund NPL site